“He was a very nice young man,” South Carolina State University President Thomas Elzey said, fighting back tears in a brief statement to reporters. “And it hurts. It hurts us all.”

Police were still looking for at least four individuals who they say might be responsible.

Elzey said “we are pulling together as a community,” announcing that counselors would be made available to grieving students.

“Our first order of business is to make sure that our students are safe,” the school president said.

Campus police were called to the Andrew Hugine Suites Living and Learning community about 1:30 p.m. and found the injured student, the university said. Police said eyewitnesses identified four suspects who had left the campus, the university said.

The school was initially put on lockdown; those restrictions were lifted a few hours later. Nonetheless, South Carolina State’s Facebook page still urged people to “remain cautious and report any suspicious activity to police.”

South Carolina State is a historically black university with about 4,000 students, according to the school website. The campus is about 40 miles south of Columbia.